


Familiar Scent

by Monsieur_Grenouille



Series: The Otherwise Undocumented Life of Andy J. Hurley [3]
Category: Fall Out Boy
Genre: Andy starts crying, Emotional, M/M, Prom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:01:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22872175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Monsieur_Grenouille/pseuds/Monsieur_Grenouille
Summary: Andy has to talk about his feelings for once.
Relationships: Andy Hurley/Joe Trohman
Series: The Otherwise Undocumented Life of Andy J. Hurley [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1639909
Comments: 3
Kudos: 7





	Familiar Scent

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a true story!

Andy stood alone at the snack bar, not planning to eat anything. He was 100% sure none of it was vegan, and someone _had_ to have spiked the punch by now, anyway. But just because he was alone didn’t mean he wasn’t totally staring across the room at Joe Trohman. The boy with chocolate curls was sitting on the bleachers, staring at his shoes. He was wearing a suit that looked too professional for a school dance, and his body language was sadder than normal. _He looks so cute_ , Andy mused. He sipped at the water bottle that he brought from home (he didn’t trust the school liquids) and thought of what could happen if he walked over there and asked Joe to dance with him.

***

_i walk slowly, trying to not run into any of the school’s usual power couples. i bump into brendan uri and ryan ross, but its their fault for kissing in the middle of the gymnasium. i find joe staring at his shoes, but he looks up when he sees me. he smiles. i smile back. “hi” i say. “hi” he says back. i shuffle my feet, embarrassed. “do you want to dance with me” i ask. “yeah” he replies. he stands up. he hold_ _s my hand. and then he dances with me. the end._

_***_

Andy smiled to himself. He liked that outcome. A voice in his head told him to stop fantasizing and do something about his crush, but he hadn’t observed the negative outcome yet. After the negative outcome had been thought of, he would strike.

***

_i trip over my feet and crash into the multitude of dancing couples as i wander over to joe. the people i run into think im clumsy and weird. “pathetic” says somebody i dont have time to see who. after standing up and walking a few feet i trip on my shoe laces and i fall flat on my face in front of the bleachers. i get injured. my leg feels like its dying. “ow” i say. people come by with an ambulance to pick me up off the floor. joe thinks im weak. he never talks to me again. the end._

***

Andy flinched. That sounded bad. But then again, isn’t that what the “worst case scenario” is supposed to be? It’s in the name, after all. The teenager drank the last of his water and threw the plastic bottle into the recycling bin. Then, tucking hair behind his hair and telling himself it was going to be okay, Andy Hurley walked across the floor. The walk wasn’t bad at all. He just maneuvered through the couples without trouble. He approached Joe and felt the butterflies move from his stomach to his brain. “H-Hi, Joe,” he managed. 

Joe looked up, blank-faced. “You’re in my science class,” he said. It wasn’t a question. Andy nodded. Joe smiled and added, “You sit in the third row, two seats away from the east window. You sit next to Patrick Stumph, and you use a blue notebook. You still don’t know cursive, and drive a maroon 2002 Buick. You live on Thelma Road, and you mow the lawn on Tuesdays.” 

That... wasn’t a question either. Andy chuckled nervously and considered walking away. He’d heard that Joe Trohman was weird, but not memorize-every-detail-about-you weird. “You, um, know a lot about me,” he said. 

Joe nodded. “Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I’m just not good with people, and–“

”Doyouwanttodancewithme?” Andy sped through his question, squeezing his eyes shut. Joe looked at him, a different expression on his face. He looked concerned. 

“Wh-What?” 

Andy bit his lip, speaking slower. “Do. You. Want. To. Dance. With. Me?” he pronounced, his words staccatos. 

Joe stared at him, cocked his head to the side, then sighed. “Who told you to do this?” he asked, suspicious. 

Andy flinched. Did Joe really just question if he was dared to ask him out? Did people really do that to him? Andy felt his cheeks burn red. People might think he’s crazy for asking Joe to dance. “I wasn’t dared,” he answered, “I actually like you.” He tried to smile at Joe, but felt weird. 

The curly boy wouldn’t believe him. “Prove it,” he challenged. 

Andy chuckled softly. An idea formulated in his head, but he wasn’t sure if it would work. “Um... come with me.” He grabbed Joe by the hand and ran out of the gym with him. The two went outside, laughing for no reason as they pushed past the bushes and stopped under an oak tree. Joe leaned against the tree, looking at the stars above. 

“The sky seems so bright right now, for it being 9:00 at night,” he pointed out. Andy silently fanboyed over how the stars made Joe’s eyes sparkle. He was caught staring when Joe caught his gaze. “What?” he asked, “Something wrong?” 

Andy blushed. “Nothing’s wrong. Just... I really want to kiss you right now. But you might not like it, and–“ 

Lips. Someone’s lips were on his. It felt so weird but God, it was nice. Andy opened his eyes for a hot second. It was Joe. Joe’s mouth was warm, and he moved his lips in a flowing rhythm. It was like making out with a professional romantic. Andy sighed. He kissed Joe in return, trying to get on the same level as him. The guitarist reached up to hold onto a tree branch as Andy held his tall, lanky body closer. 

A while later, they broke apart to catch their breath. Andy hugged Joe securely, accidentally catching a whiff of the boy’s cologne. He smelled like pine needles and fresh winter air. Like ocean mist and sawdust. He smelled exactly like Andy’s father, who passed away ten years ago. Ten years ago _today_. Andy felt tears watering in his eyes. He didn’t know if he wanted to stay with Joe and keep smelling the cologne, or run away and save himself the explanation. He decided to run away. He broke from Joe’s embrace and tore across the school yard, tears streaming down his face. Joe called after him, “ANDY!! ANDY, I’M SORRY!” but Andy couldn’t hear him. He kept running, not sure where he was going. 

He got caught up in his emotions, and didn’t realize when he was about to run straight into the street. Luckily, someone caught him by the arm as a car whizzed by at 70 miles per hour. “Andy. Andy Hurley,” it was Joe. 

Andy snapped his head around. “Go away,” he demanded, “You knew all along. You knew what today was, and you knew what cologne he used. You knew. You knew _everything_ about me, so you had to have known about my father’s cologne.” he glared at Joe, tears making him look broken. 

Joe shook his head. His eyes were soft, but his head was cocked to the side in the same I-have-no-clue look. “Andy,” he said gently, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why does my cologne matter so much to you?” 

Andy sniffled, but he was still breathing in broken apart half-sobs. “You smell like my father, Joe. The same cologne. It was a certain scent of Old Spice, but I could never find it, and now you’re wearing it ten years later, and–“ 

Joe sighed, “I’m lost. Wanna... go for a walk? Talk things out? We didn’t get much closure back there.” He pointed his thumb back over to the tree. “I mean, something was being closed but it wasn’t any meaningful words. It... it was still meaningful, don’t get me wrong, but I meant that–“ 

“Joe, you’re an idiot. I love you for that. And yes, I said I love you. Mainly because I’ve had a crush on you since third grade and it only takes approximately 2 months to fall in love,” he offered a weak smile, “Let’s go for a walk. Just... to talk. My mom’s gonna be so proud when she learns that you kissed me first.” 

Joe shook his head. “Don’t tell anyone. I’m not out yet. Unless your mom can keep a secret, I can’t risk it. You know how it is, being young and gay at the same time.” He began to walk down the sidewalk, his fingers curled around Andy’s. 

Andy smiled up at him. “Imagine being _old_ and gay.” 

“That would be cute. I love old people.” 

“Me too,” Andy let a comfortable silence pass before taking a breath and saying, “Can I tell you why I was mad at you a little bit ago?” Joe nodded, so he continued softly. “Ten years ago today, when I was five years old, my dad passed away. It was, um, cancer. Angiosarcoma in the lungs,” 

“Okay?” 

“And, uh, he used to wear cologne. The same cologne you’re wearing. When you appeared to know everything about me, I got mad because I thought you purposefully chose my dad’s cologne to get me to like you or something. I’m not accusing you of anything, but I can be irrational. Forgive me?” 

Joe shook his head. “Sorry, Hurley. I can’t forgive you.” 

Andy felt tears in his eyes. “Why not?” he asked, trying to get his voice to stop shaking, “I mean, it’s okay if you don’t. I understand. But... why?” 

Joe smiled with a twinkle in his eye. “Because I have nothing to forgive you for,” he said, “You did nothing to hurt me, babe. I see your evidence.” He squeezed Andy’s hand. Andy let out a breath he didn’t know he held in. Joe laughed, “You thought I was mad at you?” 

“Sort of. I kind of always assume people are mad at me, since I’m in a constant state of self-anger.” Andy sighed and held onto Joe’s arm with his other hand. Joe blushed from the touch and leaned into it, silently begging for more contact. Andy caught on quickly. “Do you wanna hang out at my house or something? We could watch a movie and cuddle, maybe kiss or something?” 

“Sure, or something?” Joe teased. He led Andy to the parking lot of the school (which they were near anyway) and made a beeline for his boyfriend’s car. It was still really scary how he knew the exact details of Andy’s car, but you live with what you have. The two got in the car together. 

Andy didn’t start the car yet. He just wanted one more moment with Joe before facing _the mom_ who would ask _the question_. He took Joe’s chin in his hand and leaned in for a kiss. Joe paused before contact.“Is this... is this just for the night or are we actually a thing now?” he gestured between the two. “Sorry if I’m making this weird, but I just want to know.” He curled his fingers around Andy’s wrist. 

Andy thought before answering, “I can’t see this as anything other than long-term, Joe.” 

Joe kissed him softly. “Me neither.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Clean comments!


End file.
